I have a few questions on what the rest of you do as far as standing rigging maintenance and replacement. Replacing the shrouds, bridles, upper and lower forestay every 3-5 years is of course common. Anchor pins every few years as well, and obviously if the rigging is showing signs of wear or failure when inspected it should be replaced. I'm curious if anyone replaces shackles and clevis pins regularly? Or if anyone has ever needed to replace a mast tang? Mine is slightly bent, and the holes are slightly elongated. I'm not terribly concerned, just curious.

One thing that does bother me, however, are the shroud adjusters. I replaced my shrouds last year and had to 'upgrade' to the 10 hole adjusters to accommodate the shorter shrouds. However, I have accidentally bent these longer adjusters more than once. Seeing as plastic deformation of steel causes strain hardening (and accelerated brittle failure), this kind of bothers me. Does anyone know why Hobie switched to the longer adjusters/shorter shrouds to begin with?

They changed the adjusters to allow for more mast rake. If you are sailing in salt water you may want to address your rigging more often. Although I've gotten pretty anal about rigging. I had a "can't miss ring" fail on me in heavy wind while double trapped on my H20.

I have the same concerns about my adjusters as well, how badly did you bend them, do they show signs of the bend where you bent them back? Those are pretty beefy, but as with everything visual inspection is key. Rake your mast more and use a lower hole?

I think I bent them by about 20 degrees or so, but I bent them back and continued sailing with them last year. It didn't seem too extreme, but I know that it's certainly not good for the adjuster. I'll take a closer look this year when I rig up the boat. Part of my problem is that I trailer my boat, so I'm rigging and de-rigging often, and that's a lot of opportunity to bend them.

You have a good point about possibly using a hole below the bend point. I haven't experimented too much with mast rake, I plan on spending some time on it this year with my newly acquired Hobie 18 Performance Manual, lol.

How did your ring fail on you? I imagine it was probably lost, but if not, was it a shearing failure or a fracture? Any indicators that should've tipped you off?

I bent mine about 60 degrees under a dock about a year and a half ago, it looks sketch, I bent it back for just the next regatta... and the next one... and the next one... They're pretty forgiving. I also trailer mine, and have to rig and derig each time, we do about 1 or two regattas a month at various locations around california.

I played with the performance manual as well as "cat sailing in the 90's" by Rick White. I got it as a raffle prize at my second regatta and laughed at the title... but there's some fantastic information in that one with regards to speed and tuning.

Tom - I agree, Catamaran Racing for the 90's is a great resource. I was disappointed when I got the Hobie 18 performance manual, because most of what it had to say was already covered in Rick White's book! Though the specific dimensions for mast rake, shroud tension, and a few others will no doubt come in handy this year! I'm debating whether or not I want to play with my batten shape, it sounds like a bit of a project...

I had a similar reaction when I got my hands on a copy of the PM. I also had the basic cat sailing guide too... but there are some good numbers and good steps to go through. I have all second or probably 4th hand equipment, I sighted my battens briefly, and it seems like they're close enough. I'm always too busy sailing when I have the boat rigged on a beach with enough room to do that...

Check the twist toggles on the shroud adjusters. I replaced mine about a year ago because there was probably only about 1/16" of material on one side of the hole. I'm not sure if it was always that way or if the hole had elongated and/or the steel had necked down in that area.

Also check the stainless bracket on the the roller furler (the piece where the bridle wires connect). I had one of these crack not too long ago where the steel bends to wrap around the furler. You have to inspect very closely to see the crack. I posted about it on the forum, you should be able to do a search to find it.

Shackles and clevis pins, I wouldn't worry about too much. Just give them a good inspection occasionally.

Thanks srm. I had noticed that one of my twist toggles has "untwisted" slightly, so I planned to replace that one anyway. I did see your post about the roller furler, and I will certainly be taking a close look at that before I rig the boat this year.